Policy of "No democracy sans Sharif" is dangerous: Zardari

LAHORE: Former president and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said on Friday that disqualified prime minister Nawaz Sharif had avoided to meet him when he was in trouble, to please apolitical forces.

In an informal interaction with journalists in Lahore, Zardari said, “ he wanted to meet Nawaz Sharif to offer condolences over the death of his brother, but he refused to meet for the pleasure of apolitical powers.”

Slamming Sharif for not accepting the Supreme Court verdict, he advised him to accept it.”When the court had handed down a verdict why is he reluctant to accept it,” he wondered.

The PPP chairman said the idea of grand national dialogue was aimed at saving just one person and added the parliament was the right place for such dialogue. “Sharif is following the policy of ‘no democracy sans him’, which is dangerous”, he added.

He said the democratic system should be allowed to flourish. “I always stood by the political forces and struggled to unite them”.

Zardari said that Nawaz Sharif fled the country after striking a deal with former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, but he endured imprisonment. Nawaz could have hold Musharraf accountable if he wanted to, he added.

Had I refuse to accept the “returning officers’ mandate” in 2013 general elections, it could have plunged the country into a crisis, the PPP co-chairman told reporters.